U.S. Worker Confidence Virtually Unchanged; Slightly More Concerns Over Jobs and Economy
Report also shows millennial workers most confident in several aspects of the job market

ATLANTA, May 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the most recent Randstad U.S. Employee Confidence Index, workers were slightly less confident in job availability and the strength of the economy in April, as the Index slightly decreased by 0.6 points to 56.5. Although a small decline, the Index remains level to where it stood at this time last year (57.0 in April 2013). At the same time, over a third (36%) of U.S. workers expressed an increased desire to conduct a job search in the next 12 months.

"While U.S. workers may still be wary of the state of the economy, we are finding that their overall personal confidence, which weighs in at 69.3, reached its highest level since September 2008," said Jim Link, Chief HR Officer, Randstad North America. "There appears to be a clear distinction between workers' beliefs about the overall economy and that of their own personal situation. For example, this month's index finds the clear majority of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, while another half are confident in their ability to find a new job. Further, nearly three-quarters of workers say it is unlikely they will lose their job in the next 12 months.

"These factors are likely contributing to the highest personal confidence findings in nearly six years. In fact, the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters' consumer confidence index also hit a nine-month high at 84.1 this month. We would expect this upward trend in personal optimism to continue as the economy continues to move forward."

Millennial Workers Among Most Confident About Job Market, but Also Most RestlessThe report findings also showed Millennial workers are among the most confident when it comes to several aspects of the job market. In fact, the report found the majority (53%) of 18-34 year old workers are confident in not only their ability to find a new job, but also the second most confident among all generations when asked about the availability of jobs. Not surprisingly, the Millennial workforce is the most likely among all generations to consider looking for a new job in the next 12 months – with nearly half (48%) planning to do so over the next year.

"Given the sheer size and capabilities of the Millennial workforce, employers must make the recruitment and retention of these workers a priority," says Link. "However, for many of these younger workers, the choice to work for, or stay employed with, an organization is not a decision they take lightly. We find these workers seek out strategic opportunities to invest their time where they can make a difference, and with a company that shares their values. In fact, according to Interbrand, over 20 percent of employees under the age of 30 say they would prefer to have a lower-paying job with a brand in which they believe. As evidenced by our Employee Confidence Index, Millennial workers appear ready to seek out new opportunities that fulfill these expectations."

The April research was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Randstad among over 1,000 employed U.S. adults ages 18 and older. Randstad, the second largest staffing and HR services firm in the world, has been tracking workforce trends and publishing the U.S. Employee Confidence Index since 2004.

Employee Confidence Index

Employee

Macro

Personal

Transition

Security

MONTH

Confidence

Confidence

Confidence

Index

Index

Apr-14

56.5

43.8

69.3

36

72

Mar-14

57.1

45.6

68.6

33

77

Feb-14

54

42.2

65.9

36

72

Jan-14

56.7

44.9

68.5

32

71

Dec-13

55.2

43.7

66.7

36

70

Nov-13

54.5

41.2

67.8

34

69

Oct-13

51.5

34.8

68.3

37

71

Sep-13

55.7

44.7

66.7

36

76

Aug-13

58

47.3

68.7

32

74

Jul-13

56.3

44.3

68.3

36

72

Jun-13

56.8

46.5

67.1

36

72

May-13

54.8

42.6

67.1

37

69

Apr-13

57

46.8

67.2

35

69

Mar-13

53.9

40.1

67.8

33

73

Feb-13

53.5

42.9

64.1

37

72

Jan-13

52.1

38.3

65.8

33

72

About Randstad USRandstad US is a wholly owned subsidiary of Randstad Holding nv, a $22.0 billion global provider of HR services. As the third largest staffing organization in the U.S., Randstad holds top positions in permanent placement, office and administrative, IT and accounting and finance. From professional services, commercial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing, to managed services and more, Randstad delivers a comprehensive range of temporary, temporary-to-hire, permanent placement and outsourced placement services. With its 5,324 employment experts, Randstad puts an average of approximately 100,000 people to work in the U.S. each week, through its network of nearly 1,000 branches and client-dedicated locations.

Learn more at www.randstadusa.com and access Randstad's panoramic U.S. thought leadership knowledge center through its Workforce360 site that offers valuable insight into the latest economic indicators and HR trends shaping the world of work.

MethodologyThis 2014 Randstad Employment Tracker was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad between April 7-9, 2014 among a U.S. sample of 1,088 employed adults, aged 18 years and older. Results were weighted as needed for age, sex, race/ethnicity, income, education, and region. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the U.S. adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in the Harris Interactive online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

About Nielsen & The Harris Poll On February 3, 2014, Nielsen acquired Harris Interactive and The Harris Poll. Nielsen Holdings N.V. is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence and mobile measurement. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.